Executive Director

Executive Director

Stevenson University

Founded in 1947 as Villa Julie College, Stevenson University enrolls more than 3,700 students pursuing traditional undergraduate, doctoral, and online master's and professional degrees. Stevenson is driven by the educational commitment to meet students where they are and to get them where they want to be by providing a close-knit, supportive community centered on student success; career connections that foster students' professional skills and aspirations through curricular and co-curricular experiences, internships, and mentoring; and exceptional experiences in and out of the classroom that empower students to discover their talents, explore their interests, and achieve their visions for success. Visit to learn more.

Stevenson University Online (SUO)

SUO offers online undergraduate degrees to working adults, as well as online Master's degrees, including combined Bachelor/Master's programs for Stevenson University's traditional undergraduate students to approximately 1,000 students. SUO offers a broad range of career-focused undergraduate and graduate degrees. Programs in nursing, forensics, criminal justice, business, education, legal studies, health care management, computer information systems, cybersecurity and general studies constitute SUO's current offerings.

SUO is part of Stevenson's strong tradition in continuing and professional studies and pedagogical innovation, and Stevenson has dedicated significant resources to support online instruction. Most notably, the university's Zirkin Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning has a dedicated Executive Director and a team of instructional designers who support online course design and faculty professional development, more generally.

The Opportunity

The Executive Director serves as the unit's executive officer.

Reporting directly to the Executive Vice President and Provost with a secondary reporting to the President, the Executive Director is a critical member of the Academic Affairs leadership team and plays a leadership role in the university's overall enrollment, marketing, and retention strategy.

As SUO's leader of enrollment management, the Executive Director works closely with the Senior Director of SUO Enrollment and Admissions and the SUO Enrollment Counselors to support student recruitment, with the university's Vice President of Marketing and Digital Communications to support inquiry generation through digital marketing, with SUO's Business Development Officer to create and manage partnerships with external entities, and with the Director of SUO Student Success and the Student Success Coaches to support student retention.

The Executive Director collaborates closely with the Executive Vice President and Provost, the Deans, and the Academic Program Administrators to recommend the development of new career-focused academic programs and with these officers and others cited above to strategically position SUO's career-focused academic programs in the overall online market.

The Executive Director must bring focused business strategy to SUO's enrollment management, business development, and retention processes, as well as to the creation and market positioning of SUO's academic programs. This approach ensures that SUO's academic programs provide significant value for students, that prospective students will recognize this value, and that program revenues, relative to costs, are sufficient to support Stevenson's academic mission. In this business context, the Executive Director also has a responsibility to collaborate with colleagues throughout the university to ensure SUO's administrative procedures are efficient, cost-effective, and aligned with SUO's academic, enrollment, and financial goals.

Given SUO's critical role in Stevenson's long-term strategy and business model, the Executive Director has a dotted line reporting to the President. The Executive Director meets weekly with the President, the Executive Vice President & Provost, the Vice President of Marketing and Digital Communications, and the Senior Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs as part of the SUO Executive Oversight team. This team reviews SUO's business strategy, enrollment, retention, program development, financial performance, and operational procedures, ensuring that SUO and the SUO Executive Director have visibility and access at the highest level of the university. In this broader strategic context, the university's expectations for SUO are for near-term enrollment to be stable and/or grow modestly.

Desired Professional Experience

1. Significant experience in online graduate programs and adult-focused undergraduate programs.
2. Experience in enrollment management, business development, and digital marketing.
3. Familiarity with the principles of market analysis, pricing strategy, branding and marketing, and customer relations in the development, market positioning, and operation of academic programs.
4. Experience developing market-focused academic programs.

Desired Skills and Abilities

1. Ability to lead, manage, develop and assess the performance of SUO personnel.
2. Demonstrated capacity for proactive project management and timely follow-through on SUO's strategic initiatives.
3. Excellent interpersonal and relational skills coupled with excellent written and verbal communication.
4. Effective fiscal planning and budgeting skills with demonstrated ability to manage fiscal resources.
5. Knowledge of platforms and technologies supporting online learning.

Compensation

Commensurate with the responsibilities of this position, compensation and benefits for this position will be competitive. In compliance with Maryland's laws on pay transparency, the salary range for this position is $150,000-$200,000.

Applications

All nominations, applications, and inquiries are welcome. Applications should include a CV and a letter of interest demonstrating the candidates' appropriateness for the position as described above. Applications should be submitted by email to